“To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it for years. I just felt like it was something that I needed to do,” he said of his message, in which he admitted to having a sexual experience at the age of 17 with a male “that I had an attraction to.”

“It was something that I just felt like was important and I needed to say. It was a part of a new chapter of turning 30, on December 7 this year.”

Shortly after he posting his emotional message, news surfaced that Carter had broken up with his girlfriend Madison Parker.

He told The Bert Show that the split happened last week, and “turmoil” in their relationship had also prompted him to open up about his sexuality.

“I had discussed it with my ex-girlfriend, and she didn’t really understand it. She didn’t want [to],” he said, later getting emotional as he discussed their split. “And that was it. So we left it mutual and parted ways.” their split. “And that was it. So we left it mutual and parted ways.”

Carter says he’s “a single man now” and “whether I should be with a woman or a man is my decision, no one else’s.”

Acknowledging that there may be people who “don’t agree” with his statement about his sexual orientation, “I find men and women attractive and that’s never gonna change.”

He admitted he was “shocked” by the support that has come his way since his candid admission. “I was blown away,” he said. “My fans know that I’m a heart on my sleeve kinda guy.”